5 Villains Who Should Be in the Superman Reboot

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Reunion touring with Zod is cool, but fighting Doomsday is cooler.

By Phil Pirrello and Jesse Schedeen

Superman vs. Viggo Mortensen's General Zod in Zack Snyder's Superman reboot is a great idea. But Superman vs. Zod feels like a "safe" choice, especially coming from the guys who gave us Watchmen and The Dark Knight.

We're excited to see Hollywood revisit the potential ass-kickery a Zod-on-Superman brawl would have in the 21st Century that it didn't in the 20th. (No seran wrap "S" shields flying, please!) Zod's a good "gateway villain" to bring people back to big-screen Metropolis; and if it pans out to be true, hopefully "Kneel Before Viggo" will be successful enough to warrant a visit from as-yet-untapped baddies from Superman's Rogues Gallery.

And those are the villains we really want to see Superman duke it out with. We submit to you 5 antagonists that should appear in Superman's second relaunch in less than ten years. (Sorry, Lex, you're sitting this one out.)

Most of these names have been on many a fanboy's short list for years, so dust off your own and share in the Comments who you want to see Murderball with Krypton's last son.

The thing made out of murder and bone teeth, the thing that killed Superman, has been waiting in the wings for a long time. Doomsday got close to making his first live-action appearance in the Thank-God-it-didn't-happen movie from writer Kevin Smith and director Tim Burton. And most recently, Kal-El's killer went ten rounds with Supes in DC's animated movie, Superman: Doomsday.

But that only whetted our appetites for more. The story of Doomsday beating Kal-El into the next life should be one for the big screen. The more others try to stop him the more unstoppable he becomes - even for Superman.

Maybe the whole death/resurrection thing might be a little hard to pull off satisfactorily, but a drag-out brawl between a monster built out of anti-death and a hero who most think can't die is one meant to be fought in widescreen. Adding Doomsday to the mix would provide the darker slant WB is considering with their projects in the wake of TDK, and it would also give some much need dimension to Lex Luthor - the guy who has spent his entire life trying to kill Superman watches a creature do it in hours.

"Supposed to keep that bone stuff on the inside there, Doomsy."

Special effects are at a level where we can have a very photo-real, very IMAX-friendly brawl between Superman and Doomsday on and through the city of Metropolis. The villain just needs a good story to support his introduction. We've seen Superman kneel before Zod once before. Let's see him do it before Doomsday - and soon - especially with someone like Snyder behind the camera.

With the collapse of the Terminator franchise, there just aren't enough killer cyborg villains in Hollywood anymore. Why not address that problem by bringing Metallo into the fold?

This robotic villain was once a military man whose brain was transferred into a robotic body. His existential angst and obsession with regaining his lost humanity have provided the fodder for many a conflict.

Metallo is strong and nearly indestructible, as any good killer robot should be. But what makes him truly a danger to Superman is the fact that his body is powered by a Kryptonite shard. Not only does it give him strength, Metallo can blast the Man of Steel with Kryptonite beams from afar. Superman's brains and brawn are usually tested in their fights.

Parasite is one of Superman's trickiest villains. When battling Parasite, the stronger you are, the more you become your own worst enemy. This gluttonous villain can absorb the energy of his opponents and grow more powerful. Superman – effectively a living solar battery – is by far Parasite's favorite meal.

The catch is that we're not really interested in the relatively normal portrayal of Parasite seen in the animated series. This villain works better as muscle rather than the main villain of the story. We'd rather see Parasite portrayed as the almost mindless and terrifying monstrosity he is in the All-Star Superman comic and DVD movie. Let the primary baddie hatch his plans, and Parasite can be there to give Superman the physical challenge he needs.